Game 35: Warriors 103, Portland 97

Warriors power forward Carl Landry was asked whom he believes to be the game’s best at his position.

“If you’re trying to sell tickets, it’s Blake Griffin,” Landry said.

What if you’re trying to win?

“It’s between David Lee, Zach Randolph and LaMarcus Aldridge.”

Lee didn’t hear Friday’s pregame debate, but he sure played like he was trying to make the closing argument, thoroughly outplaying Aldridge in the Warriors’ 103-97 victory in front of Oracle Arena’s eighth consecutive sellout.

Lee compiled his league-leading 15th game with at least 20 points and 10 rebounds, going for 24 points and 10 rebounds in 36 minutes. Aldridge was limited to seven points on 3-of-14 shooting to go along with six rebounds.

The Warriors (23-12) snapped their second two-game losing streak of the season by beating Portland for the 12th time in the teams’ past 14 meetings in Oakland. The Blazers (20-16) came in as one of the league’s hottest teams, winning 12 of their past 15 games, including beating Miami 92-90 on Thursday.

But they looked tired a night after their emotional win in Portland and had no one who could come close to stopping Lee from continuing his All-Star bid. He’s the only player in the league averaging at least 20 points, 10 rebounds and three assists – numbers that haven’t been posted by a Warrior since 1970-71.

Lee is also shooting 50 percent from the floor and 80 percent from the free-throw line, which hasn’t been done in the NBA by a player with his scoring and rebounding averages since he did it for New York in 2009-10.

Against Portland, which shot 38.9 percent from the floor, Lee boosted his All-Star campaign on the defensive end, too. He made life miserable for Aldridge, who went 17:36 between his first-half scores – getting a layup with 7:40 remaining in the first quarter and the second of two free throws with 2:04 left in the second.

The Warriors’ matched their win total from 2011-12’s 66-game season, moving to 10-2 after losses and 11-3 against winning teams.

They got back to their multiple-effort defensive ways after lapses in consecutive games against the Clippers and Grizzles and used a well-balanced offensive approach. Stephen Curry had his sixth double-double (22 points, 12 assists), Klay Thompson recorded 16 points, Carl Landry put up 15 points and seven rebounds, and Harrison Barnes added 13 points and seven rebounds.

It marked the 11th consecutive game in which Thompson scored double figures and 20th game in which Landry had at least 10 points and five rebounds, which is tops among NBA reserves.

Portland’s starters lead the league in points, field goals and three-pointers per game, but coach Terry Stotts said pregame that he was going to have to find some rest for them after an energy-zapping win over Miami.

Damian Lillard, making his debut in his hometown Oakland, was about the only Portland player who looked fresh, totaling 37 points, six rebounds and four assists. In his rookie season, Lillard might already be in the class of Jason Kidd, Leon Powe and Jason Richardson with regards to Warriors’ opponents who noticeably get cheered at Oracle Arena.

Nicolas Batum had 16 points on 5-of-11 shooting, and Wesley Matthews went 3-for-15 for 10 points. Batum made a three-pointer that cut a once-20-point deficit to 93-87 with 3:34 remaining, and he had a tip-in that cut it to 98-94 with 44.5 seconds left. Curry found Landry for a layup with 24.7 seconds left that put the Warriors ahead 100-94.

Lillard made a three-pointer with 22.5 seconds left to make it 100-97, but Curry swished a pair of free throws to put the Warriors back up by five with 16.4 seconds remaining. After Draymond Green forced an errant three-point shot by Lillard with 10.5 seconds left, Jarrett Jack made a free throw to ice it.